The Web
by MissMarauder98
Summary: As their time at Hogwarts draws to a close, Lily Evans and James Potter find their lives inextricably tangled together, but as romance blossoms, the outside world begins to wind a more sinister web around the couple and their friends. This is a long, slow fan fiction and my first attempt, so please give feedback! Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling, I don't own the Harry Potter world.
1. Chapter 1

Red-and-gold silk hangings fluttered as the door to the sixth-year girls Gryffindor dormitory flew open. Annoyed, Lily Evans looked up from her four-poster bed, where textbooks, quills and rolls of parchment were spread around her.

"What is it?"

"Sorry, Lil, I know you like your work" smirked the tall, skinny girl who had just rushed in through the doorway, "but Mulciber and Avery have been suspended!"

"What?"

Three voices cried out; Lily's surprise was echoed by the two other girls in the room who had until then let Lily work in silence. Mary Macdonald and Alice Longbottom had been flipping through a copy of Teen Witch Weekly in the corner.

"Yeah, apparently McGonagall flipped in the Entrance Hall, marched them straight up to Dumbledore's office."

Mary put her magazine down and crossed the room, a sudden smile cracking her pale, pretty face.

"Brilliant!" she giggled. "Finally! What happened, Mona?"

"Apparently, McGonagall heard about this morning when two first years came to her in tears. McGonagall sat them down and asked what had happened, and that just made them cry even more. She had to take them to the hospital wing, they were in absolute hysterics. Eventually, she found out that someone had told them the Chamber of Secrets – you remember all the old stories – had been opened again, and because they were Muggle-born, they would be first on the list. And the reason they were crying so much, was because they thought she had told them!"

"How?" said Mary.

"Had they been Confunded or something?" asked Alice.

"No," said Lily, giving up the pretence of work. "I know – it was polyjuice potion!"

Mona nodded.

"But I don't get it," Lily murmured, "how could those idiots ever work out how to brew polyjuice? It's one of the most complicated potions."

Mona shrugged.

"Anyway," she said, "just thought I'd tell you. Knew you'd be happy, Mary – now I'm off to Quidditch practice."

Lily didn't bother going back to her work after this. Mary was in one of her giggly, excitable moods – and although she often annoyed Lily like this, the news they had just got justified her happiness. Last year, Mulciber, a Slytherin student, had played a cruel prank on Mary which had left her in the hospital wing for a week. Having mocked her every Care of Magical Creatures class for being afraid of spiders, he had used Dark Magic to create giant spiders out of Fiendfyre, which had chased her into the Forbidden Forest. Thankfully Hagrid, the gamekeeper, had raced into the Forest to get Mary out safely – although he hadn't been much help at subduing the Fiendfyre; Lily had helped Professor Grubbly-Plank with that, alongside Mona and another Gryffindor student, Remus Lupin. Needless to say, the incident hadn't helped Mary's arachnophobia, and it had other repercussions too. Lily was sure that Mary wouldn't be the only student happy to see the back of Mulciber and Avery.

In fact, Mary was so happy that she decided to go down to the Quidditch pitch to watch Mona play, something she hadn't done in ages. She made Lily and Alice go with her, though – she didn't want to risk any chance of one-to-one conversations with Sirius.

Quidditch practice was nearly over by the time they got down to the pitch. They watched Mona score a final goal, with the effortless skill she always had, and then the team descended onto the smooth, green turf.

"Ooh, look!" squealed Mary, pointing at a scarlet-robed figure doing flips on his broomstick. "Isn't he talented? Do you think he knows I'm here, and that's why he's showing off?"

"No Mary, I think he's just a big-headed git showing off to his own bloody teammates," sighed Lily, exasperated. "Just like all of his friends do."

"Anyway, thought you didn't like Sirius anymore?" asked Alice.

"I don't like him! Why – do you think he likes me?"

Lily groaned, rolling her eyes, whilst Alice struggled to find a diplomatic answer.

"I think," she began slowly, "He's one of those boys who are hard to read – I mean…"

"Shush, Alice!" Mary hissed. "They're coming out."

Seven figures emerged from the changing rooms. First were the beaters, keeper, and a chaser. Then there was Mona, who was another chaser, and lastly followed Sirius Black, the seeker, alongside the third chaser and Quidditch captain James Potter.

Mary gave a shrill giggle and tossed her shiny dark hair as they drew closer.

"Is he looking?" she whispered, but Lily didn't reply. Her green, almond-shaped eyes were focused instead on James, taller and thinner than his friend, and perhaps not quite as handsome. His dark hair didn't flop elegantly likes Sirius's, but rather grew stubbornly upwards – although only, Lily reflected ruefully, because he insisted on ruffling his fingers every five seconds.

"Look at him," she muttered scornfully. "Tossing that stupid snitch - he steals a new one every week - but he doesn't even play seeker, that's Mona's position. I guess the stupid git think it looks good."

A harsh bark of laughter sounded from behind. Lily, Alice and Mary turned round, and Mary quickly swung her dark hair forward to hide her face, as Sirius Black was stood before them, smirking.

"Couldn't have put it better myself, Evans," he smirked. "You've certainly deflated James's head to snitch-size anyway."

Lily flushed.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, and then, because Mary was looking rather furious, she turned hastily to go.

"Wait up, Evans – Prongs, get over here!"

James strolled over, swinging his arms with exaggerated nonchalance.

"Hello there, Evans," he smiled, blushing. "What is it Padfoot?"

"Why do you always call each other that?" asked Lily, trying to come across as withering but failing rather miserably.

Sirius shrugged, his handsome grey eyes laughing.

"Why not?"

"Come on, Padf- Sirius," muttered James, "I need to go."

He walked off with rather less swagger than he had arrived with. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"And we all thought he'd forgotten you," he sniggered, turning to follow James. "See you around, Evans."


	2. Chapter 2

The sixth-year girls sat in silence. The fifth sixth-year, Anita Parvinder, was always quiet, sitting there working and avoiding the other girls. For Mary, Lily, Alice and Mona, the silence was tinged with more bitterness than mere studious concentration might be. Mary was sulking, Alice and Mona sat awkwardly beside her, and Lily lying down on the other side of the room, torn between amusement, exasperation and the slight tinges of hysteria - "we all thought he'd forgotten you." That's what he had said. The words echoed around the circular dormitory walls, leaving inky imprints on the silk hangings, and Lily found she didn't particularly care if Mary was annoyed at her.

"Thought she didn't care about boys," hissed Mary loudly, "thought perfect Lily Evans didn't bother with all that. Never thought she'd go around flirting with friend's – with friend's…"

"With friend's what, exactly?" interjected Lily, sitting upright.

"People you know your friend likes!" practically howled Mary. "You don't even like him and you'll still flirt with him!"

"Flirt with him! It was barely even a conversation."

"Well it's the closest you'll ever get to one, with a boy! The only boy who'd ever like you is James Potter, and you're too prim and proper to give him the time of day! He won't wait around for ever, you know!"

Lily's green eyes flashed.

"Shut up about that!" she snapped. "That's completely irrelevant – I don't even like James – just shut up!"

Mary smirked triumphantly as Lily stormed out.

"I got her there, didn't I?" Mary could be heard saying as the door swung shut. "Hit a sensitive spot. Lily Evans doesn't always keep her cool, now, does she?"

Lily hurried down the stone spiral staircase, her head pounding. She hated Mary! It wasn't like _she _could attract boys, anyway – not that Lily wanted to, she wouldn't want to attract James Potter or any of his arrogant idiot friends - but still, Mary had no right to be making personal remarks like that. Anyone would lose their cool, when people said things like that. It didn't matter who it was about.

"Alright, Lily?"

Lily knew immediately that the low, gentle voice wasn't Sirius or James – they always called her Evans – and little Peter Pettigrew, another of their friends, never addressed her at all. So that only left the fourth member of their little group.

"Hi, Remus,"

Thin and pale and nervous-looking, Remus Lupin fell into step beside her.

"Something wrong, Lily?"

She considered telling him – ever since he had stepped in to help with the Fiendfyre last year, Lily had rather like Remus. He was gentler and less arrogant than the rest of that little group, and normally she trusted him. But she couldn't admit that she had let anything to do with James Potter get to her. Why, until last year, she had hated his guts, and even now she barely spoke to him. How could she talk to one of his best friends about that?

"I heard you ran into Sirius and James earlier," Remus said pleasantly, as though this was the most natural topic of conversation in the world, "after Quidditch practice."

Lily nodded.

"Yeah – I ran into them."

She could feel his mild blue eyes fixed on her face, as though she had just made a very interesting point. She blushed a little.

"Listen, Lily," Remus said loudly, stopping and turning towards her with sudden urgency. "If James – if James seemed a bit strange today, a bit rude or stand-offish – he's not like that." Remus's words were fragmented and his face flushed darkly; he seemed to be making some tremendous effort. "I know you and he haven't got on that well in the past, but – he's better now. Really."

"I know," said Lily quietly, surprising herself with the words. "He seems a bit less arrogant, at any rate."

"Yeah," Remus nodded enthusiastically, still staring keenly at her, "yeah, he really is."

Lily squirmed. There was something distinctly awkward about this conversation; unspoken words hung heavy in the air and each of Lily's short, simple replies seem to cause Remus untold emotion.

"It's just…" – Remus flushed a dark, ugly puce and his eyebrows contracted as though in immense pain – "he used to really like you, Lily. That was why he was such a stupid git around you, sometimes."

"Right."

Lily felt distinctly uncomfortable now, and she couldn't help noticing how Remus was stumbling over each word, letting them fall of the tip of his tongue with great reluctance.

"Remus – did James tell you to talk to me about this?"

"What? No, of course not – and don't mention it to him, okay. I just wanted you to give him a chance, but maybe I shouldn't have brought it up…"

He turned to go, his jaw tight.

"No, Remus, I'm sorry. You should have brought it up – if it means that much to you, I will give him a chance."

He gave a slight, taut nod.

"And Remus – are you okay? You seem a little upset."

"I'm fine, really – just fine. " He tried a smile and then murmured indistinctly, "Anyway, best be off, work to do… library…"

"Oh, are you going to the library? I might join you – I had a bit of an argument with Mary…" Lily paused, about to tell him why, but his blue eyes, which normally gave her the brightest attention, were dreamy and unfocused. "Well, anyway, I might join you."

They walked down to the library in a silence infused with awkwardness that had never before tainted their friendship. Lily had originally been glad to run into Remus, in need of some intelligent, reasoned conversation for a change, but she was actually quite happy when Marlene McKinnon interrupted. She was a tall Ravenclaw girl in their year who Lily had never spoken to before, but she suddenly shouted them from across the corridor and bounded over with long, rangy strides.

"Remus! Sirius is looking for you – your friend James is in trouble."

Remus gave a dry laugh.

"Why should Sirius be looking for me to say that? I could have predicted ten galleons that James is in trouble at any given moment.

"No – it's bad. Dumbledore caught him using that Levicorpus curse."

Lily was slightly ashamed to find the tightness in her throat relaxed and she interrupted.

"Oh, that. He won't get in any huge trouble for that. James always uses it, doesn't he, Remus?"

"It is one of his favourites."

The mention of 'Levicorpus' had not relieved Remus in the way it had Lily. Grimly, he continued:

"On Snape, was it?"

"Well – yeah. But it wasn't like the other times. He used it on him from the second storey – Snape's nose got pretty smashed up and he's in the hospital wing."

Remus blanched.

"Oh dear."

"Well, just thought I'd tell you. Most people know by now, anyway."

Marlene left, leaving Remus and Lily in silence.

"I'll best most people know," Remus murmured, "from the looks they're giving us, I guess the popular opinion is that James has taken things a bit too far this time."

Lily glanced around; people were standing in small groups muttering darkly. A few ugly looks were certainly being shot in their direction. Lily felt faintly sick. Anger and worry and disappointment built up inside her, as she stood there whilst people said bad things about James Potter, and Remus's face was tight and closed and apparently indifferent to the fate of Severus, and when words came she almost choked on them.

"Giving us!" she screamed. "Why am I getting these bloody dirty looks? This is nothing to do with me – I don't even like James – and Severus doesn't talk to me anymore – oh this is all too horrible I hate it, hate it, hate it!"

"Lily," Remus said soothingly, "this is horrible for you, I'm sorry, but -"

"Oh, you're sorry! That's fine then, if you're sorry and after all James only took thing a bit too far! Only a bit"

"Look, I think this was just as horrible as you do,"

"Remus, it was more than a bit too far! This is unbelievable – Severus could have been killed – and James would have been the one who killed him! I thought he had changed, Remus – you said he changed!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. Remus hesitated a moment before putting his arm around her and drew her quickly into an alcove.

"I know, Lily, " he said simply, letting her cry into his shoulder, "I know."

She looked up at him, her red hair plastered across her face.

"Remus?" she said. "How can you stand it? You're – you're so sensitive and kind – how can you be friends with them?"

He gave her a long, slow look.

"It's not as simple as that. But sometimes, Lily, I hate it too."

"Moony?"

Remus and Lily jumped and turned round. Peter Pettigrew was small and plump with watery eyes. He wasn't as outright arrogant as James or Sirius were, but he still laughed shrilly at all of their cruel pranks, and Lily found him annoying. Still, as she pointed out to Remus, relaxing:

"Oh - it's only Peter."

She didn't even bother to wipe her tears way in front of Pettigrew, but Remus stood stiff and awkward beside her.

"I'd better go," he muttered, avoiding her eyes. "For Prongs – come on, Wormy."

Lily didn't want to go back to the common room, so she walked aimlessly through the corridors. She found herself on a trick staircase. As it swung though the airy hallways, Lily's stomach swooped, matching her tumbling heart.

She didn't know what to think – she didn't want to think. But her mind was going round in the same circles as her feet were, and aching with the same dull lethargy.

Potter had always done this – she shouldn't forget that – but she thought he had stopped – why had he stopped?

And Severus – she had sworn and screamed and shed bitter tears over Severus, but that was last year – she had forgotten everything, hadn't she?

They weren't friends now– she knew that, everyone knew that – Marlene knew that, because she hadn't even bothered to tell Lily that Severus had been hurt. Lily was quite surprised to find this upset her.

And she was upset, too, at Remus, though she wasn't sure why. He was friends with her, he had comforted her, he wouldn't never do anything like they did – and yet he was friends with them, he stuck up for them. For "Wormy" and "Prongs" – when he was with her he didn't call them that, he called them James and Sirius and Peter, just like he called her Lily.

Not like Potter. He was always Potter, never James, and she was always Evans.

And Severus – Potter never called him Severus, never even called him Snape. He was "Snivellus", "Greaseball" – even now? Did he still call him those names, in private, still laugh at him? But he had stopped, hadn't he – but why had he stopped?

_We all thought he'd forgotten you_

And now Lily, that most controlled of people, allowed herself to think – really think – about Potter. Her thoughts dropped out in little sharp shards, making her wince with each revelation. She let them fall, and instead of analysing them, de-constructing them like she did books and essays, she left them there. Walked over them, allowing them to cut her, and hurt her. And once again, the tears started to fall – but no-one, not Remus, not Severus, and especially not Potter, was there to pick them up.


End file.
